Save the world! Start your own bee colony!

Bees are responsible for one out of every three bites of food we eat. Really think about that. Most of our crops and vegetation require pollination by insects. Bees spend most of their lives collecting pollen as a source of protein they feed their offspring. Bees focus on one species of a flower at time so they cross pollinate. Many types of plants require cross-pollination in order to provide viable seeds. Large numbers of bees have been mysteriously disappearing. This is called colony collapse disorder or CCD.Colony collapse disorder is when the majority of the worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind the queenand the immature bees. CCD is caused by a number of factors parasites, agricultural chemicals and poor nutrition of the bees. The destruction of colony collapse disorder has devastating and serious consequences. To put it simply, flowers and flowering crops need bees to pollinate and the bees need pollen from the flowers to provide protein and energy for itself and the baby bees, if the bees in any area or region die out the flowers and ecosystems follow and they collapse as well.Scary Right?

Now lets discusshow YOU can help by starting your own hive;

First off check your city guidelines, as there may be codes to where you can and can’t have your bees. Secondly do your research start with some good bee literature like; The American bee Journal, Bee culture,and the backyard beekeeper. Also make sure it’s right for you and your household as it requires maintenance, like having a pet. Think climates, Seasons, maybe needing to feed them, also, having a variety of flowering plants from early spring onwards. Join a local beekeeping association or organization you can look one up one in your area by visiting www.beeculture.com It’s always a good to have support from a community that are undergoing the same endeavors. When embarking on a new venture such as this, maybe you will find someone who has spare equipment or an extra swarm they are willing to give you. The best time to start a bee colony is in early spring as soon as the weather warms up so they will have plenty of time to build a strong hive. When making your hive you want to place bees in the area that encourages flight patterns for example, you want your bees to fly away from your house, your pets, your neighbors or any area that you will be spending time in, especially places that you will be eating. You will also want to make sure that you have lots of vegetation and flowers that bees like, they really like purple, they love buckwheat, they like lavender... Do your research and find what grows best in the climate you live according to what the bees will be attracted to, also with your hive you have to keep in mind your placements and the comfort of the bees, it’s nice to have something that blocks drafts and wind, bees also don’t like to be in the shade and you want to keep the hive in a dry and sunny place, you will also need a water source, they prefer standing water with natural minerals, they also can’t swim so they will need something to stand on such as rocks or pieces of wood.Next you have to buy your bees and if you’ve already joined an organization then it’ll probably be easy for you to network and find someone who either has them for you or knows where you can get them, otherwise you can look on craigslist for bee swarms in your area. When you do get them it’s a good idea to have your queen marked.Now let’s get into a brief social structure of a bee colony:Queen bees- The queens sole purpose is to lay eggs, that’s all she does. She doesn’t even feed herself, the colonies basic function is to serve her. In the height of a late-season she can produce around a thousand eggs a day.Worker bees- Worker bees are sterile female bees and all they do is work. Drone bees- All these bees do is eat and procreate. If the drone bee is lucky enough to meet with the queen she will rip out his sexual organs during coitus and store them for future use, he then falls to the ground and dies. If the queen does not mate with you the worker bees will force you out of the hive come winter as you are not useful.

Next you’ll have to install your bees, here’s a video that will best show you, as visually it is sometimes the best way for demonstration